by Sarah Roderick-Fitch
In the wake of the devastation impacting southwestern Virginia following Hurricane Helene, Gov. Glenn Youngkin is requesting additional federal assistance to support recovery efforts.
Youngkin submitted a request for $4.4 billion in federal support on Friday to President Joe Biden, President-elect Donald Trump and congressional appropriators. The governor said the aid would support recovery efforts, which damaged farms, homes, businesses, “critical” infrastructure and tourism assets.
According to the governor’s office, he saw the need to request additional support, which led to the establishment of the Office of Hurricane Helene Recovery and Rebuilding following several trips to assess damage in impacted areas.
“While our Office of Hurricane Helene Recovery and Rebuilding continues to work collaboratively with our federal, state, and local partners, the severity of the impacts in southwest Virginia require accelerated federal support,” Youngkin wrote. “Given the urgent need for action, I respectfully requested assistance from our federal partners to support Virginia’s recovery needs as they work through the federal disaster supplemental funding.”
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership conducted an economic impact analysis on the southwestern region of Virginia related to the hurricane; it found the “direct and indirect” economic impact to be more than $2 billion.
The governor noted that the historic storm left 310,000 Virginians without power and that “electric distribution infrastructure was severely damaged.” In addition, Helene had a significant transportation impact, affecting 484 primary and secondary roads and closing 118 bridges, which is estimated to cost $340 million.
Youngkin said that as of Nov. 12, FEMA had received nearly 10,000 applications for Individual Assistance and almost 3,000 requests to inspect damaged or destroyed homes, estimated to cost over $500 million. In addition, nearly 3,700 farms reported being impacted by the storm, which had an economic impact of over $630 million for farmers and their communities.
In addition, the storm has caused a significant impact on “tourism-related attractions,” including the Virginia Creeper Trail. The governor is requesting assistance in rebuilding park infrastructure while revitalizing local tourism.
“The Virginia Tourism Commission projects substantial visitor spending loss this year,” Youngkin wrote. “The Virginia Creeper Trail is a 34-mile rail-trail, 17 miles of which is federally owned. Tourism generated by the Creeper Trail (250,000 visitors per year) sustains the economies of multiple localities, including the communities of Abingdon and Damascus. 18 trestles have been lost (either destroyed or washed away) and extended sections of the trail itself no longer exist.”
Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on Sept. 26 and has been linked to the deaths of 232 people, including two in Virginia, according to information gathered by The Center Square.
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Sarah Roderick-Fitch is The Center Square’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Editor. She has previously worked as an editor, and has been a contributing writer for several publications. In addition to writing and editing, Sarah spent nearly a decade working for non-profit, public policy organizations in the Washington, DC area.
Photo “Glenn Youngkin” by Glenn Youngkin. Background Photo “Hurricane Helene Damage” by Glenn Youngkin.
